The present invention relates to a liquid fuel-reforming process and, more particularly, to a process for reforming oil fuels such as gasoline, diesel fuel, heavy oil and other liquid fuels, that is suitable for reconstruction of gas stations.
Recently, depletion of oil resources comes up as an important problem because of recent enormous amount of consumption of oil fuels. For this reason, measures for reduction of oil resources have been required. In addition, there are problems for immediate solutions including greenhouse reduction and so-called purification of pollution exhaust-gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), free-carbons, unburned hydrocarbons that result from consumption of mineral oil or imperfect combustion of mineral oils. In particular, the consumption of fuel oils is increased remarkably because of considerably increase in total number of automobiles, which in turn causes critical problems viewed in the light of health care. Thus, there is a great need for the solution.
The gas mileage of automobiles has been improved along with measures of the environmental pollution problem. The first approach for improvement in gas mileage was addition of a metal catalyst serving as an octane booster to gasoline. However, such a metal catalyst contains metal such as harmful lead or zinc, resulting in environmental pollution due to the harmful metal contained in the auto exhausts. Thus, the approach had fallen into disuse.
The next approach for improvement of imperfect combustion is to use radioactive ores such as monazite, uranium ore, and tourmaline containing rare earth element, or processed goods thereof as a catalyst for cracking of hydrocarbons in the fuel oil. The catalyst with the radioactivity of the legal standards (less than 4 microcuries) is employed in cracking of the oil fuel, the fuel mileage is improved only by 5 to 8%. This necessitates use of the catalyst with the radioactivity ranging from 40 to 250 microcuries since the cracking efficiency is increased along with an increasing radioactive level of the catalyst. If such a radioactive catalyst is put in a fuel tank of each automobile for a long period of time, there is a fear of radioactive leakage. In addition, the fuel in the tank may be contaminated with a small amount of the powdered radioactive catalyst and the exhausted gas may contain some amount of the powdered radioactive catalyst, resulting in environmental pollution. In particular, places where a large number of automobiles are concentrated, there is a fear of second pollution by radioactivity.
On the other hand, there is a great need for regeneration or reconstruction of closed gas stations along with an increasing number of closed gas stations.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to a oil fuel-reforming process that makes it possible to improve combustion-efficiency of internal-combustion engines used for automobiles, marines, airplanes, thermal power generators, boilers, burning appliances for heating systems, or the like and burning equipment, thereby reducing exhaust pollution gases such as free carbons, NOx, SOx and the like resulting from combustion of the oil fuels. The oil fuel used herein includes gasoline, light oil, heavy oil and other liquid fuels
Another object of the present invention is to provide provide a process for reforming oil fuel that is suitable for regeneration or reconstruction of gas stations.
According to the present invention, these and other objects are achieved by providing a process for reforming oil fuel suitable for reconstruction of gas stations, comprising the steps of contacting oil fuel with activated aspergillus fungi for a certain period of time.
In a preferred embodiment, the contact between the oil fuel and the activated aspergillus fungi is carried out by supplying the fuel from a fuel tank to a cultivating tank including activated aspergillus fungi and then circulating it in the cultivating tank. Preferably, the reformed oil fuel is blended with unreformed oil fuel in a fuel tank so that the activated aspergillus fungi contained in the reformed oil fuel sustains cultivation in the fuel tank. In another preferred embodiment, the oil fuel is brought into contact with a magnetic catalyst after treatment by the activated aspergillus fungi.
In a preferred embodiment, the oil fuel is added with a certain amount of organometallic compound after treatment by the activated aspergillus fungi. Preferably, the organometallic compound is one or more chelate compounds including at least one of metals selected from the group consisting of copper, silver, platinum and palladium.
Further scope of applicability of the present invention will become apparent form the detailed description given hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed description and specific example, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only since various changes and modifications within the spirit an scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the detailed description.